Digest, 426, Title, Indictment, No. 8; and the first section of the Act of the 20th of March, 1797, entitled "A supplement to the penal laws of this State:" 3 Smith's Laws, 281; Brightly's Digest, 426, Title, Indictment, No. 11; and embraces the cases provided for by them.

SEC. 67. This section is taken from the Act of the 28th of March, 1805, entitled "An act explanatory of the act, entitled 'An act to regulate the payment of costs on indictments:"" 4 Smith's Laws, 235; Brightly's Digest, 427, Title, Indictment, No. 15.

TITLE VI.-General Provisions.

SECS. 68, 69, 70, 71 and 72. These sections are taken from the fifty-eighth, fifty-ninth, sixtieth, sixty-first and sixty-second sections of the Act of the 13th of June, 1836, entitled "An act relating to lunatics and habitual drunkards:" Pamphlet Laws, 592; Brightly's Digest, 556, Title, Lunatics, Nos. 62, 63, 64, 65 and 66. SEC. 73. This section is new. Its object is sufficiently manifest without further explanation.

SEC. 74. This section is taken from the thirtieth section of the Act of the 31st of May, 1718, entitled "An act for the better administration of justice," etc.: 1 Smith's Laws, 105; Brightly's Digest, 643, Title, Penal Laws, No. 11.

SEC. 75. This section is taken from the first, second and third sections of the Act of the 23d of September, 1791, entitled "A supplement to the penal laws of this State:" 3 Smith's Laws, 37; Brightly's Digest, 626, Title, Outlawry, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, and are nearly transcripts thereof. They form in themselves as good a system of outlawry as can now be suggested, and are so skilfully and ably drawn as to require no amendment of importance. Although proceedings in outlawry have been rarely resorted to in our State, yet they are indispensably necessary in every complete system of criminal jurisprudence.

SECS. 76 and 77. Whilst these sections, except the proviso to the seventy-sixth section, are new in form, no material alteration is made in the law as it now stands. The seventy-sixth section requires that sentences of imprisonment at labor by separate or solitary confinement for a period of time not less than one year, shall be performed in the State penitentiary of the proper district, or in such county prisons as are now, or may hereafter be authorized to

receive convicts of a like description; and the seventy-seventh section prohibits sentences of imprisonment at labor by separate or solitary confinement for a less period of time than one year, except in the counties where suitable prisons have been or shall hereafter be erected for such confinement and labor. This section. also provides that in all cases where the sentence is for simple imprisonment only, the offender shall be confined in the county where the conviction shall take place.

The sections taken together require:

1st. That all persons sentenced to simple imprisonment, shall be confined in the county where the offender is convicted.

2d. That no person shall be sentenced to imprisonment at labor by separate or solitary confinement for a less period than one year, except in the counties where, in the opinion of the court passing the sentence, prisons are provided suitable for such confinement and labor.

3d. That all imprisonment at labor by separate or solitary confinement, where the sentences exceed one year, shall be in the State penitentiary for the proper district, except in the counties in whose prisons convicts of a like description are authorized to be imprisoned, and in those counties, such convicts may be sent to the county prisons as heretofore. The provision contained in the last proviso to the seventy-sixth section, is copied from the first section of the Act of the 18th day of February, A.D. 1847, entitled "An act concerning sentences of convicts:" Pamphlet Laws, 126; Brightly's Digest, 648, Title, Penitentiaries, No. 12.

SEC. 78. This section is taken from the Act of the 10th of April, 1834, entitled "An Act to abolish public executions:" Pamphlet Laws, 234; Brightly's Digest, 607, Title, Murder, Nos. 5 and 6.

SEC. 79. This section considerably extends the existing laws relating to the limitation of criminal prosecutions. These only relate to misdemeanors, in all of which, prosecutions must be commenced within two years, if the alleged offender is accessible to justice, except in forgeries, perjuries and misdemeanors by bank officers, the limitations in the latter cases being six years. The present section extends the principle to all crimes, murder and voluntary manslaughter excepted. Where the alleged offender is accessible. to justice, prosecutions should not be unnecessarily delayed. Such delays do not often take place from worthy motives. Charges are

often kept suspended over the heads of the accused to subserve the ends of the accuser, and the accused kept in a state of moral slavery, to which no human being should be subjected. It is true, that stale prosecutions are looked upon with an unfavorable eye by courts and juries, but the very existence of this feeling in criminal tribunals is a strong argument in itself in favor of reasonable limitations in criminal prosecutions. In the more serious class of felonies and misdemeanors, the limitation has been extended to five years; in those of less malignity, the limitation of two years has been adopted. The existing laws on this subject are the first section of the Act of the 10th of April, 1848, entitled "A further supplement to the penal laws of this State:" Pamphlet Laws, 428; the seventh section of the Act of the 16th of April, 1849, entitled "An act relating to lunatics and habitual drunkards," etc.: Pamphlet Laws, 663; the thirty-sixth section of the Act of the 25th of April, 1850, entitled "An act relating to the bail of executrixes," etc.: Pamphlet Laws, 569; the Act of the 10th March, 1852, entitled "A further supplement to the penal laws of this State, and to render their limitations uniform:" Pamphlet Laws, 124; Brightly's Digest, 542, Title, Limitation of Actions, No. 26; and the Act of the 24th of April, 1857, entitled "An act to repeal the Act of the 10th of March, 1852, limiting the commencement of prosecutions for misdemeanor to two years:" Pamphlet Laws, 305; Brightly's Annual Digest, 1237, Title, Limitation of Actions, No. 1. The Act of 1852, which provides for a general limitation of two years in all cases of misdemeanors, forgeries and perjuries excepted, may be regarded as having repealed all antecedent laws. The Act of 1857, though purporting by its title to be a repeal of the Act of 1852, is only a modification thereof, extending the limitation in cases of prosecution for misdemeanors of bank or other corporation officers to five years.

SEC. 80. This section is a re-enactment of the existing law, and is introduced here for the purpose of giving more completeness to the code.

SEC. 81. This section, as has been heretofore said, repeals the existing acts and parts of acts intended to be supplied by it, by titles and dates. The Commissioners have preferred this mode of repeal to that sometimes resorted to, of repealing by general words all past acts inconsistent with that presently enacted. This man

ner of proceeding certainly gives ease and facility to the law-maker, but is the source of continued embarrassment to the judiciary, which is not only required to construe the law actually enacted, but to compare it with others supposed to be repealed, in order to ascertain whether such is actually the fact. The Commissioners are aware that such an absolute repeal of the existing laws is a work of great delicacy, and one requiring extreme care and caution. They have spared neither time nor labor in making this section correct, and believe it to be so. Although covering the criminal legislation of Pennsylvania, almost from the organization of her civil government, it is still believed to be accurate.

EDWARD KING,
JOHN C. KNOX,
DAVID WEBSTER,

Commissioners.

ED. NOTE.-The following is the bill recommended by the Commission touching proceedings to detect the commission of crimes.

BILL No. 2.

GENERAL SUMMARY.

TITLE I.-Of Proceedings to detect the Commission of Crimes.

SECTION 1. Writs of arrest, etc.

2. Escapes into another county.

3. Backing warrants.

4. Indemnity of magistrate backing such warrants.

5. Of property supposed to be stolen, found in the possession of one accused.

6. Surety of the peace.

7. Bail.

8. Surrender of bail.

9. Settlement of cases.

TITLE II.-Of Indictments and Pleadings.

10. Grand jurors authorized to administer oaths.

11. Formal objections to indictment, to be made before the jury is sworn.
12. Variances between written instruments, as produced and laid in the
indictment, amendable.

13. Immaterial variances between indictment and proof amendable.
14. Manner of laying the ownership of property in cases of partners and
joint owners.

SECTION 15. Manner of charging frauds against partners and joint owners. 16. Manner of laying property of counties, cities, townships, etc. 17. Forms of indictment in cases of forging, stealing and embezzling, of cheating by false pretences.

18. Forms in other cases.

19. Intent to defraud particular persons need not be alleged or proven in cases of forging, uttering or false pretences.

20. In indictments for murder and manslaughter, means by which the injury was inflicted need not be specified.

21. What is requisite in an indictment for perjury.

22. What is requisite in an indictment for subornation of perjury.

23. Indictment for permitting a masquerade.

24. Indictment for duelling.

25. Counts for stealing and receiving may be joint.

26. Issue in criminal cases, and trial thereof.

27. Prisoners standing mute.

28. Prosecutor's name to be indorsed on the indictment.

29. Distinct acts of embezzlement may be charged in the same indict

ment.

30, Nolle prosequi.

31. Plea of autrefois convict, or autrefois acquit.

TITLE III.-Of Courts.

32. Of Courts of Oyer and Terminer.

33. Quarter Sessions.

34. Writs of error and certiorari.

TITLE IV. Of the Trial.

35. Persons under bail not to be placed in the criminal bar.

36. Persons indicted for treason to have a copy of the indictment.

37. Peremptory challenges.

38. Challenges by the Commonwealth.

39. How challenges are to be conducted.

40. How challenges are to be determined.

41. Of the trial of persons jointly indicted and joint challenges.

42. How tales may be awarded and juries summoned.

43. Of jury de medietate linguæ.

44. Of the place of trial of treason.

45. Of the place of trial of accessories before the fact.

46. Of the place of trial of accessories after the fact.

47. Of felonious striking or poisoning in one county and death in an

other.

48. Of felonious striking or poisoning in the State and death out of the

State.

49. Of proof of offences committed near county lines.

50. Of proof of offences committed during journeys.

51. Party indicted for felony or misdemeanor may be found guilty of attempt to commit the same.

52. Persons tried for misdemeanor not to be acquitted if the offence turn out to be felony.

53. Witnesses, competency of, though convict of felony.